SBIR/STTR Award attributes
The new deformable mirror design that we propose will result in a system that can meet the requirements defined by the HabEx and LUVOIR mission concepts shown in Table 1 [1, 2] while offering key advances not found in existing products.nbsp;nbsp; Our system architecture uniquely enables the following capabilities: 1) low voltage (less than 10V) actuation provided nbsp;by charge controlled pixel actuation, 2) multiplexing of pixel control so that for an array of N2 actuated pixels, only N control voltages are required, 3) a truly continuous reflecting surface with no release etch hole structures which are present in other MEMS based system and lead to unwanted scattering of light, 4) a transparent backside electrode which allows for laser based measurement of the mirror position.nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;This architecture can be implemented using a manufacturing technology that is proprietary to Obsidian Sensors that we call Integrated MEMS on Glass (IMG).nbsp; IMG allows for the integration of thin film transistor circuits and MEMS device features on a common glass substrate.nbsp;nbsp; While the DM approach that we propose is new, the IMG process technology has already been adopted by a leading manufacturing partner, operating with Gen 3.5 glass substrates (620 mm x 750 mm), to build other MEMS based products.nbsp;nbsp; The TRL of the IMG process is 6, as Obsidian Sensorsrsquo; main product based on the same manufacturing strategy has been demonstrated and will enter the market in 2021.nbsp;nbsp;The specifications for our proposed DM system:100 x 100 actuatorsContinuous mirror surface with no holes and minimum topography400um actuator pitch, on a square array grid10 Hz DM update rate1um stroke
